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I disagree slightly with dismissing transaction costs. They may not cause the condition gap directly, but they can make buyers less willing to spend again on improvements after purchase. That could increase the appeal of a finished flat. Still, you would need matched completed sales to...

I’d go further and avoid choosing an entity merely because it appears to reduce one line of closing costs. The later position may matter more: disposal, capital-gains treatment, distributions, residency changes and inheritance. Give the local property lawyer and tax adviser the same short fact...

Do not overlook seller competition inside the same development. If several near-identical units are available, a buyer can reject one over a relatively small drawback. That would make condition look decisive even when excess choice is the underlying reason.

Financing could explain part of the split. A seller may prefer a cleaner offer over a slightly higher one with more uncertainty, so the final price alone will not show the whole negotiation. I’d ask when any price cuts happened, whether offers fell through, and whether the developer or seller...

Include a fallback plan before the first application goes out. Will they approach more than one suitable lender, and what happens after a decline or unattractive terms? Agree who may contact lenders directly too, because uncoordinated duplicate approaches can muddy the document trail and make...

Also run an affordability case for the reset, not just the attractive fixed period. You don’t need to predict the future rate precisely: test several higher monthly-payment amounts and ask whether the budget still works. I’d make acceptance conditional on getting the 91-day timing clarified and...

I would not treat the full ZAR 691,600 as available for setting up the apartment. Ring-fence the emergency savings first, together with the first payment and any known service charges or insurance excess. Moving and inspection-related essentials come next. Furniture should be last and can arrive...

I’m comparing mortgage offers for a Cape Town property purchase around ZAR 3,549,000. One quote is fixed at 2.90% for 5 years, but the advertised rate looked better before arrangement fees and the applicable loan-to-value tier were included. What should I use for a fair comparison: APR...

I would not limit the test to the two fixed years. That can make a fee-heavy deal appear acceptable on the assumption that refinancing will be easy. Run the monthly payment at the quoted rate, then run a less comfortable rate after reset. If the second figure strains the budget, a slightly...

A practical way to test this would be a small matched table: neighbourhood, property type, original ask, final ask, completed price, first-listing date and completion date. Keep withdrawn and relisted properties visible rather than silently resetting their marketing time. That would show whether...

I’d structure the message in three parts: the exact offer, the strengths of your terms, and the conditions. Something like: the figure reflects the updating required and the available market evidence; financing support can be supplied; completion timing is flexible; the offer remains subject to...

Until the price-reduction history and any rejected offers are known, the 36 days do not tell us much about the seller’s flexibility. At this value, a smaller buyer pool could explain the marketing time without creating real leverage. If ZAR 16,254,500 reflects the buyer’s honest view before...

Welcome. I’d start on the local board and separate your reading into three buckets: sale-price evidence, once-off transaction costs, and ongoing ownership costs. Asking for all three in one broad post can produce muddled comparisons. When looking at duplexes, also state whether you mean buying...

Buyer financing is another possible explanation for 72 days. A willing buyer may still need time to complete funding and property checks, while a cash-ready or less conditional offer can have different negotiating weight. I would ask whether “days on market” ends at accepted offer or only at...

The monthly asking rent is now set at ZAR 137,400, which raises a practical question about how much lease information should be agreed before viewings. The property is a four-bedroom country home in Cape Town of about 175 m², available to a dependable tenant seeking a longer stay. The deposit...

Financing could also explain why two apparently similar buyers behave differently. A lower purchase price does not automatically solve the problem if substantial cash is still needed for repairs. I would add two columns to the sample: whether the property appears usable without immediate work...

By the first price cut, the useful comparison already needs to be in place; otherwise vacancy can look like the cause when it is only a visible symptom. I would record condition, withdrawal or relisting history, completed-sale evidence and any known timing pressure for each property. I am also...

I would not dismiss vacancy as leverage. An empty home can invite a lower opening offer because buyers may infer motivation, even when that inference is wrong. The complication is financing: a buyer with a strong offer but a longer funding process may still be less attractive than a cleaner...

What do the advertised service charges actually include? There is a big difference between a clear recurring amount and a figure that excludes items the buyer will still carry. I would also want the residential and commercial portions broken out, plus current occupancy and condition. Those...

Fair point on the 12 days—I’m using it as a visibility midpoint, not a definition of stale stock. I also need to tighten “coastal,” because several neighbourhoods can look comparable on a map while appealing to different buyers. Would you include withdrawn listings in the same analysis, or keep...